Instructables Invention Challenge

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“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.” -Thomas Edison

Have you ever looked at a brilliant Kickstarter campaign and gone, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Well, it’s time to put your imagination to work and invent something of your own. We’re collaborating with the how-to experts at Instructables to bring you the Invention Challenge, a chance to share your brightest ideas and invent something to share with the world. To enter, create something that completes a task, solves a problem, or just makes life more fun, then post an Instructable explaining how you did it before July 31.

To celebrate the most ingenious inventions, we’re offering some creativity-enabling prizes that got their start on Kickstarter. You could win a Nomad CNC mill, a Robo 3D printer, or a Teensy microcontroller — great prototyping tools to help move your idea forward. So brainstorm, iterate, and turn that proverbial pile of junk into something exciting and new. Maybe you’ll even feel inspired to take the next step and bring your idea to life on Kickstarter.

Here’s a bit more about the Kickstarter-funded creative tools that you could win.

Nomad CNC MillCut wood, metal, circuit boards, casting wax, and many other materials with this desktop CNC mill. While this versatile machine would be a welcome addition to any makerspace, artist's studio, or jeweler’s workshop, its enclosed design means that it’s quiet and clean enough to use at home.

Robo C2 3D Printer3D printers can help you make amazing things but sometimes getting them to work is a project unto itself. Robo’s easy-to-use, Wi-Fi–connected machines are designed to let makers focus on seamless creativity rather than technical troubleshooting.

Teensy 3.6 Development BoardCreate robots, musical instruments, and interactive projects of all kinds with this small but powerful Arduino-compatible microcontroller that’s become a favorite in the maker community.

With a lot of hard work and some help from backers on Kickstarter, these creators turned their imaginative ideas into real inventions that now help people pursue their own creative dreams.